


silver and gold

by serpentineshadows



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, No Dialogue, Reflection, actually all my fics are unbeta'd but this one especially, no beta we die like men, set around thriller bark era, struggling to be canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 20:51:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15957290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serpentineshadows/pseuds/serpentineshadows
Summary: The Strawhat Pirates aren't like the Rumbar Pirates, and Brook learns to be okay with that.Basically: Brook, on making new friends.





	silver and gold

**Author's Note:**

> I get distracted very easily, and this idea hit me out of nowhere. Caesar Clown will have to continue to wait.
> 
> Also, I have very bad memory, so that's why it's "struggling to be canon compliant" and not "canon compliant." Thriller Bark happened a long time ago, y'know.
> 
> Usually, ppl write about their fave characters, but honestly, I'm not doing too well on that front. That's okay though 'cause Brook needs some love. "Strawhat Pirates & Brook" wasn't showing up as a canonical tag, idk if that's just me/my computer, but even "Strawhat Pirates & Thousand Sunny" was showing up.
> 
> 11/3/18: hi yes, so i made a lil doodle/headshot of brook when i wrote this but sadly, couldnt find a place to embed it here bc i am not an artist and therefore, its not cool enough to insert. however, now that ive gotten a tumblr, i have a place to stick it so if you want to see it, go ahead and click [here](https://sserpentineshadows.tumblr.com/post/179735525875/just-a-little-doodle-i-did-while-writing-silver)

Brook’s used to the frightened reactions after the long, long years he’s spent, floating around the Florian Triangle. At first, it stung, to have his chances at human contact botched so horribly, no matter how hard he tried to demonstrate his harmlessness. Now, though, he’s lost track of the days, weeks, months, years, and any human contact at all is a luxury, even if it’s just him saying “Hi” and them running away as fast as they can.

So, when a smiling boy appears, invites him aboard his ship, enjoys his company, and _laughs_ at every one of his jokes, Brook feels the loneliness more than ever. He’s been desensitized to the interactions that don’t go so well, but now that he’s enjoying himself, eating good food with good company, he finds himself reaching for the ghosts of his old crew, their music and their laughter. There’s a stab of pain in his heart (he doesn’t actually have one though, haha!) when he’s reminded, for what feels like the millionth time, that they’re all long gone, but it’s nothing compared to the realization of how _sad_ his existence is, with no one around but himself. 

Luffy and his crew are so kind, so nice, even if some of them are scared witless by his appearance. The thing is, they’ll have to leave eventually, and he’s not lucky enough to be able to go with them. And Brook’s not so detached from people, so cruel, to wish that they’ll stay indefinitely in the Florian Triangle to keep him company.

  


Brook soon learns that Luffy and his crew, but mainly Luffy, aren’t deterred by logic or common sense. They defy it with tenacity, ferocity, pigheaded stubbornness, and that’s how Brook finds himself sailing out of the Florian Triangle with his new crew by his side.

It’s been a long, long time since he’s ever felt so alive, so full of joy. He knows how Laboon is doing, he has his shadow back, and he has human interaction that doesn’t consist of everyone running away from him.

The thing is, Luffy’s crew already has a dynamic, and they function like a well-oiled machine. Brook watches them as Zoro recovers slowly (the guilt simmering in his gut—not that he has one though), sees how perfectly they interact with each other, and feels left out, useless. It’s different from the bone-deep (ha!) loneliness he’s gotten used to over the years, but maybe it’s worse because even though there’s other people around him, he’s not fitting in. As a musician, there’s not much more that he can offer but his songs, but he can’t help but feel that some, like Nami—and therefore, by extension, Sanji—find his music annoying, so how else can he help? What other purpose is there for him on the crew?

Of course, Luffy’s always perfectly accepting, cheerily demanding that Brook play pirate songs and questioning the bodily functions of a skeleton, and after Zoro wakes up and they sail off, Brook feels a little closer to the Strawhats, grateful to those who helped him bid farewell to his old crew. But still, he feels a little distant, even after they threw such a big party to celebrate his joining their crew.

It’s usually during nighttime that Brook sits near the lion figurehead and simply observes the night sky, the twinkling stars that he was never able to see in the Florian Triangle. He mourns the loss of his old crew in the darkness of the night, futilely wishing they were still by his side. His new crew is fine and all, but they’re not like his old friends, and isn’t that the problem? Brook looks at the Strawhat Pirates and can’t help seeing the Rumbar Pirates, comparing them to each other. He can’t quite let go of the familiarity of his old friends, even after all this time.

  


Sanji catches him out on the deck, one time, and leans against the railing next to Brook, pulling out a cigarette. He asks Brook how he’s holding up, eyes glued to the ink black sky, and Brook smiles, says he’s fine, adds in a skull joke. Sanji sees past that, though, and points out that Brook forgot to come to dinner. After swearing Brook to secrecy and to also never skip a meal again, Sanji cooks up a midnight snack for Brook. The whole interaction is a little bit awkward, highlighting how new Brook’s addition to the crew still is, but there’s a warmth in Brook’s chest (or there would be if he had one). 

It’s after Zoro offers to spar with Brook that Brook actually catches on to what’s happening. Chopper wanting to take notes about how his body works, that book Robin found about the Rumbar Pirates, the conversation about their pasts with Nami, Usopp inviting him to fish for food with Luffy and Chopper, Franky building a chest for Brook to keep his Tone Dial safe. They’ve noticed he’s still a little awkward with them, he realizes, feeling left out despite their whole adventure on Thriller Bark, so they’re trying to help him fit in.

He tears up a little bit later when Luffy declares that Brook is the best musician, clamoring for Brook to play a song. Perhaps the Strawhat Pirates won’t ever be like the Rumbar Pirates, but that’s fine because they’re not replacements. They’re friends he loves just as dearly as his old ones.


End file.
